The first Ohio State-Penn State Match-Up was a Blood Bath

Historically, Penn State and Ohio State have a long-standing rivalry that dates back to 1912 when Penn State, coming off an 8–0–1 season in 1911, shut out Ohio State, 37–0. The entire game was a bloodbath with Penn State's Al Wilson getting knocked out cold and losing several teeth. Red Bebout (who later died in World War I) was severely lacerated from being stomped in the face. But this was 1912 so both men sucked it up and got back in the game. ​

With about nine minutes left in the game, Ohio State player was viciously laid out during a kickoff. Coach Richards screamed illegal blocking, but no penalty was called. He had had enough and walked his Ohio State team off the field, even as the judge informed him that he would be automatically forfeit the game before time expired.

So the Penn State players walked about the field as the hometown fans threw insults and debris at them. One PSU fan came down out of the stands and began to rush them, but was knocked him out cold with a single right fist by assistant coach Dick Farlow. Police rushed the field to surround the Penn State players and protect them as fans grabbed some blue and white bunting under one of the goalposts and set it on fire. The game was such an insult to both teams that it would be another 44 years until the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions would meet again. They would only play each other sporadically before 1993 when Penn State joined the Big Ten.

Paterno vs. Tressel vs. Franklin vs. Meyer

For an entire decade between 2001 and 2010, Joe Paterno and Jim Tressel enjoyed an intense in-conference rivalry. In fact, Penn State's "whiteout" tradition, which is being revived this Saturday, was born out of this rivalry in 2005, when Penn State upset the then-favored Buckeyes 17–10 in State College with the help of a of a loud and boisterous home crowd. All in all, Tressel finished this 10-year rivalry on top with 7 wins to Paterno's 3 (if you count the Ohio State wins vacated in 2010).

In the aftermath of Penn State's prolific scandal and the emergence of the Coach Urban Meyer era in 2013, Ohio State served Penn State's their worst loss, and most points scored against the team, since 1899 by beating them 63-14. Under Coach Franklin, Penn State has only beaten Ohio State once in 2016, but came incredibly close last year, only losing by 1 point. Here's a recap of this shoot-out below. Now the Buckeyes are the ones still reeling from a largely publicized scandal and Penn State is enjoying incendiary success with their relatively new coach James Franklin.

Penn State's Odds

Advantages:First off, the game is going to take place at Beaver Stadium, giving the Nittany Lions the home field advantage. The last time Penn State hosted Ohio State, they beat the then No. 2 ranked Buckeyes 24-21, outscoring them 17-0 in the fourth quarter and taking the lead with 4:27 remaining on a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown. The odds were against them then and the odds are against them now, but statistically underdogs with big offenses like Penn State often deliver big upsets.

Not to mention, Penn State has outscored its past three opponents 177-40.

​PSU QB Trace McSorley may not be as statistically overwhelming as OSU's QB Dwayne Haskins, but he has proven to be a consistent threat with the deep ball and an underrated runner. More importantly, Penn State has a special weapon in RB Miles Sanders, who, after rushing for 200-yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, was named a Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. With 495 yards on 71 rushing attempts so far this season, Sanders ranks 2nd in the Big Ten and 6th nationally. Sanders has proved to be a worthy successor to his former teammate and mentor Saquan Barkley and has graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. Penn State's productive and dominating offense should scare Ohio State who has been rife with injuries on the defensive side of the ball including top performing defensive lineman Nick Bosa. ​

Disadvantages:
The Nittany Lions allowed 23 points by the unranked Fighting Illini last week, and nearly lost their season opener to App State, 45-38. By no means, is Franklin's defense vulnerable, but with only 3 returning starters, he's been doing a lot of swapping and shifting to develop his backups. So far, it's been working and if this game was later in the season, I probably wouldn't even question Penn State's defensive unit against Haskins and the Ohio State offense.

Ohio State's Odds

Advantages:
​QB Dwayne Haskins has been extremely impactful in his first four career starts, averaging 10.4 yards per attempt and completing 76 percent of pass attempts. He is currently ranked second in the nation with 16 touchdown passes, while only throwing a single interception. Aside from the likes of Alabama, there are few teams in the NCAA that could conceivably stop Haskins in the passing game.

Ohio State became the target of unrelenting moral outrage following their decision to keep Meyer as head coach, so they are probably doing everything in their power to make that decision count. Moreover, the 2016 loss to Penn State on the road was Urban Meyer's first true road loss as the esteemed head coach of Ohio State. For Coach Meyer, this game is about more than the rivalry or making playoffs, it's about his legacy.

Disadvantages:
Ohio State football should have running back Mike Weber and defensive tackle Robert Landers back this week against Penn State, but will still be without junior DE Nick Bosa due to his recent surgery to repair a "core muscle" injury. Bosa was considered to be a central part of the Ohio State defensive unit, and they will need every defensive weapon available against Franklin's highly productive offense.

Haskins and the Ohio State offense may have had a productive and impressive start to the season, but they have yet to play a true away game at a rival school with one of the highest game attendance rates, no less. What's more, Penn State is bringing back the 'whiteout' which had previously delivered an upset against a top ranked OSU in 2005 and 2016. It's something that Haskins has never experienced before and has given Meyer a lot of strife in the past. ​

Which ever way the wind blows, Penn State's offense is going to put Ohio State's defense to the test. But with two of the most productive offenses in the nation, it is going to be up to Penn State's rotation-heavy defensive unit to find their rhythm and stick to it in order to stop QB Dwayne Haskins if they want to pull of an upset. It's going to be a loud and high scoring shoot out between two teams who began their century-old rivalry with a literal bloodbath. Two Top 10 teams will enter Beaver Stadium on September 29th, 7:30 pm ET and only one will leave with an undefeated record.

This battle will also serve as a major recruiting showcase, as Penn State is expected to host several of its top targets from various classes. The winner of this matchup will move forward as the favorite to win a Big Ten title in December.

Not only did a cover-up at PSU never make sense, it was laughed out of court. It's indisputable fact that not one PSU admin was found guilty of a cover-up.

PSU received one watered down hearsay account of potential abuse, and reported it outside the university (per state law, university policy, and current NCAA guideline) to the charity with responsibility for Sandusky and the teen. The teen from the shower that night is on the record saying no abuse occurred.

Any news outlet that clings to this false narrative instead of highlighting that failures of the state agencies that cleared Sandusky to adopt/foster, and cleared him in 1998 before PSU was involved... are abuse enablers.